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Authored by Jonathan Turley,

Remember when networks and legal experts (correctly) denounced President Donald Trump for his attacks on judges who ruled against him?

Two years ago, I ran a column noting that Democrats were adopting the same attacks on conservative judges but the media was entirely silent.

Now,  California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats are lambasting a federal judge who ruled in favor of gun rights in a recent decision — accusing him of being in the pocket of the NRA and a danger to the country.  The response to Newsom’s attack from all of those same media and legal experts has ranged from outright support to conspicuous silence.

We recently wrote about the decision of U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez to strike down the ban on “assault weapons.”  In Miller v. Bonta, Benitez found that the ban on weapons like the AR-15 are based on both a misunderstanding of the weapons and a misinterpretation of the Constitution.  I previously discussed many of the same issues surrounding the AR-15 which remains one of the most popular weapons in the United States

The recent decision led to a barrage of personal attacks from Newsom, state Attorney General Rob Bonta and legal experts.  Newsom called Benitez a “stone-cold ideologue” who writes “press releases on behalf of the gun lobby.”  He warned that everyone needs to “call this federal judge out” because “he will continue to do damage.”

Benitez has indeed ruled for gun owners in the past.  However, he was upheld in that decision (which is still on appeal). In 2017, he struck down the state’s nearly two-decade-old ban on the sales and purchases of magazines holding more than 10 bullets. As recently discussed, the Ninth Circuit upheld his decision, which is now scheduled to be reheard by an 11-member panel. These cases have a very strong chance for review before the Supreme Court given the division across the country and the 6-3 conservative majority on the Court.

One can have good-faith reasons to disagree with both decisions.  Indeed, I am all in favor of passionate and pointed analysis of judicial rulings. Moreover, there are occasions where a judge’s personal bias is an issue.  Despite previously praising Judge Emmet Sullivan, I wrote columns that later criticized him for what appeared bias in his handling of the Flynn case. This is not such a case. Newsom is attacking this judge because he ruled in favor of gun rights arguments that are supported by many judges, lawyers, and citizens. These arguments have never been rejected by the Supreme Court. Indeed, he was relying on strong case law in favor of the Second Amendment claims raised by the litigants.

It is the strikingly different response to the attacks on the judge that caught my attention. As discussed in the earlier column, legal experts expressed outrage over attacks by Trump of judges as “Obama judges” or “political judges” during his term. There was however no push back on Democratic members denouncing “Trump judges” and “Trump Justices.”  Esquire magazine published a column denouncing judges who ruled against ObamaCare, declaring that the Republican arguments “don’t need to make sense. They just need the right judges — and they’re everywhere in the federal judicial system.” One Nation article explained how Trump jurists “swarming our judicial system . . . will linger, like an infected wound poisoning the body politic.” CNN ran headlines about “Republican-appointed judges” supporting the ObamaCare challenge, while Democratic members of Congress denounced federal judges ruling for the Trump administration as examples of why new judges must be appointed by Democrats.

Benitez ruled on arguments that have long been discussed by many of us as raising serious questions over the constitutionality of these laws. Again, one can disagree with the arguments but they are not fringe or fanciful positions. Indeed, Newsom’s demand for an appeal may be great news for the gun rights groups. Liberal states and cities have repeatedly pushed appeals that resulted in magnifying their losses. The District of Columbia is a great example of such poor choices in triggering the decisions in Heller. Later the Supreme Court expanded on its pro-gun rights case law in  McDonald v. City of Chicago. The Supreme Court just took up a new major gun rights case out of New York.

Benitez and his family fled communist Cuba and remains a powerful American success story.  He was able to get through law school as a first generation American. Benitez was confirmed 98-1 and had the strong support of Sen. Dianne Feinstein and other Democrats. (Only Sen. Dick Durban voted against him). Feinstein rejected the negative review of the ABA based on his “temperament” and noted that her own inquiries found that lawyers “say he is a man of the highest ethical standard, that he has superb demeanor, intelligence, pragmatism, and fairness. And the chief public defender notes that he has good judicial temperament and is courteous to his employees and the attorneys who appear before him.”

Newsom’s attack omits that Benitez was upheld by other judges in his earlier decision. That does not mean that the opinion is manifestly right (Indeed, it is being appealed). However, the opinion advanced well-established arguments and authority in reaching its conclusion. A majority on the Supreme Court would likely agree with much of the opinion. It is not about him. It is about the law.  That is why I criticized Trump for his attacks on judges and why we should be equally critical of Newsom and Democratic leaders doing the same thing now.

A former ADT security technician was sentenced to four years and four months in federal prison for repeatedly hacking into customers’ video feeds in North Texas and spying on attractive women and couples engaging in sexual activity inside their homes, according to CBS Dallas.

Telesforo Aviles, 35, pleaded guilty to computer fraud in January – admitting to adding his personal email address to customers’ “ADT Pulse” accounts, which gave him real-time access to video feeds from their homes. In some instances he claimed he needed to add himself temporarily to “test” the system, while in other cases he added himself without customer knowledge.

According to plea papers, Aviles watched numerous videos of naked women and couples engaging in sexual activity, which he admitted he would view for sexual gratification.

Aviles accessed roughly 200 customer accounts over 9,600 times without their consent.

“This deliberate and calculated invasion of privacy is arguably more harmfrul than if I had installed no security system and my house had been burglarized,” said one female victim in a statement to the court. “This sick and corrupt individual’s actions will have a lasting emotional and mental toll on me.”

“This defendant, entrusted with safeguarding customers’ homes, instead intruded on their most intimate moments,” Acting US Attorney Perak Shah said in January.

Aviles faced up to five years in prison.

Unfortunately for the victims, they couldn’t opt-out of Aviles’ intrusions like Amazon Sidewalk customers. You never know who’s on the other end.

Via MoneyMetals.com,

As foreign governments reportedly accumulate gold and de-dollarize their sovereign wealth funds, a Republican congressman is asking tough questions of the U.S. Treasury about its secretive gold activities.

Representative Alex Mooney (R-WV) – sponsor of the Gold Reserve Transparency Act of 2021 (H.R. 3526) to require the first true audit of America’s gold in decades – wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen this week requesting detailed information about the U.S. gold holdings delegated to the Federal Reserve and the International Monetary Fund and posed other questions.

From Rep. Mooney’s letter:

1. According to testimony in 2011 by Mr. Gary Engel, the Director of Financial Management and Assurance at the Government Accountability Office, about 5 percent of the U.S. gold holdings were stored at the time at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He also stated that this gold is not considered “audited” and that no assaying or inventorying of that gold had occurred since at least 1986.

   At the current time, what amount of U.S. gold holdings is vaulted at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (or by the Federal Reserve using other depositories)? Also, has this gold been recently audited, assayed, and/or inventoried? If so, please provide me with a copy of any relevant reports.

2. For what purpose(s) is United States gold bullion stored at the Federal Reserve?

3. According to testimony by Mr. Engel, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York holds gold for other nations as well. Is the U.S.-owned gold stored at the Federal Reserve held in a physically segregated manner from the holdings of other nations?

4. During the 2011 hearing, Rep. Luetkemeyer referenced a report that 261 million ounces in U.S.-owned gold is part of the IMF’s reserves. At present, how many ounces of U.S.-owned gold are in the possession of the IMF or pledged to the IMF – and where is that gold kept? Also, please describe the purpose and nature of this arrangement as well as what oversight procedures are in place.

5. How much U.S.-owned gold is in the possession of and/or used by the Exchange Stabilization Fund as part of its activities? What is the purpose and nature of the ESF’s gold activities?

6. Please provide details as to what U.S.-owned gold is currently pledged, swapped, leased, or otherwise encumbered – and for what purposes – including, but not limited to, arrangements involving the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), World Bank, IMF, and other financial institutions, foreign or domestic.

Mooney’s inquiry comes shortly after he introduced H.R. 3526 to require the Comptroller General to immediately conduct a full assay, inventory, and audit of the United States’ gold reserves and repeat the process every five years.

There is evidence the U.S. Treasury may have sold, swapped, leased, or otherwise placed encumbrances upon some of America’s gold over time.

U.S. Congressman Alex Mooney (R-WV)

However, federal government officials have strongly resisted disclosure of these activities for decades.

To address these concerns, H.R. 3526 also requires a full accounting of any and all sales, purchases, disbursements, or receipts, a full accounting of any and all encumbrances, including due to lease, swap, or similar transactions presently in existence or entered into in the past 15 years, and an analysis of the sufficiency of the measures taken to ensure the physical security of such reserves.

To fulfill its obligations under the Gold Reserve Transparency Act, Government Accountability Office auditors would gain access to any depository or other public or private depositories where reserves are kept as well as related records.

“People are rightly concerned about the state of America’s gold holdings,” said Jp Cortez, policy director at the Sound Money Defense League.

“The lack of full transparency by the Federal Government has hobbled public confidence. The Gold Reserve Transparency Act will ensure our gold reserves are accounted for.”

The full text of the bill, which has been referred to the House Financial Services Committee, can be found here.

Real Vision managing editor Ed Harrison welcomes Raoul Pal, CEO and co-founder of Real Vision, to the Daily Briefing to discuss the changes in the macro policy paradigm globally. Pal will be analyzing the impact these shifts will have economically, whether global macro investments can still perform in light of these shifts, and whether crypto ultimately benefits in the aftermath. He will also be unveiling the legendary headline guest at the upcoming Festival of Learning (June 23-25). Don’t have your ticket yet? You can get it through this link:http://realvision.com/festival-of-learning-2021

On Thursday the state-run Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) announced that it’s suspending all deposits in US dollars due to what it called America’s “economic blockade” of the country’s banking system. 

“Given the obstacles imposed by the US economic blockade for the Cuban banking system to depositing abroad cash in US dollars collected in the country, the decision has been made to temporarily stop the acceptance of bills in that currency by the Cuban banking and finance system,” national media cited the bank as saying.

The decision will go into effect starting June 21, and for now it appears indefinite with no end date for the restrictive measures being issued.

Continued US punitive measures which have greatly weakened the Cuban peso created distortions between public and black market rates of late, a disparity which has hit state employees who are paid out in the national currency the hardest. 

“This comes as the U.S. dollar in Cuba’s black market has soared in recent months to about 70 Cuban pesos, about triple the official exchange rate of 24 pesos,” The Miami Herald reports. 

“The Cuban peso weakened significantly against the dollar after the island eliminated a confusing dual-currency system that maintained one currency valued at parity to the dollar and another much weaker currency,” the report added.

Central Bank Vice President Yamile Berra Cires further cited as part of the rationale for the drastic move that some two dozen banks had halted business with the island in the wake of the prior Trump administration’s tightened US sanctions. She said the move is necessary to protect the local financial system. 

So it’s not surprising people are gonna see this as in fact not the system saying no more dollars, but short-term dollar grab vis-a-vis the informal currency market. IE this:https://t.co/lSqP6QZYjw

— Michael J Bustamante (@MJ_Busta) June 11, 2021

But as CNN’s Havana bureau chief Patrick Oppmann notes, the change also comes “just months after Cuba effectively dollarized stores. Now the Cuban gov’t seems to be trying to ditch the dollar as inflation has driven down the value of the Cuban peso.”

Authored by Brad Polumbo via The Foundation for Economic Education,

With pandemic restrictions finally being wound down around the country, the economy should be roaring back to life. But we’ve seen much more muted job growth than expected, and we have a record-breaking 9.3 million unfilled job openings while millions of Americans languish on unemployment welfare. What’s going on?

Well, a new small business survey reveals two key problems plaguing our economy.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses regularly surveys the thousands of small businesses whose interests it represents. Released this week, its latest polling offers yet more proof that a labor shortage is restraining economic recovery.

A record-high 48 percent of business owners said they had jobs they couldn’t fill. 

“The labor shortage is holding back growth for small businesses across the country,” NFIB economist Bill Dunkelberg said.

“If small business owners could hire more workers to take care of customers, sales would be higher and getting closer to pre-COVID levels.” 

The source of this labor shortage, at least in large part, is the continued availability in dozens of states of unemployment welfare benefits that pay more than working a job. 

Per Forbes, the average unemployed person can earn the equivalent of $17/hour staying on the welfare rolls under the current “temporary” expanded pandemic benefits (assuming a 40-hour workweek). Thus, many workers are disincentivized to return to work, even for jobs that pay $15/hour! 

That small businesses across the country are experiencing an acute labor shortage should be no surprise given such dysfunctional government policy. But it’s a huge issue for our economy. 

Meanwhile, surging price inflation is also a key cause for concern. 

In the new survey, small businesses report big increases in their supply costs. As a result, roughly 40 percent said they are increasing their prices—the highest response to this question since 1981. The rising prices are a major concern for business owners, and one reason why their optimism on the near future fell in this month’s survey.  

“Inflation on Main Street is rampant and small business owners are uncertain about future business conditions,” Dunkelberg added.

Where’s the inflation coming from? It’s complicated, but here’s the short answer: reckless federal money-printing. 

“Nearly one-quarter of the money in circulation has been created since January 2020,” FEE economist Peter Jacobsen recently explained. But printing more money doesn’t mean we actually have more stuff, and “if more dollars chase the exact same goods, prices will rise.” 

From a labor shortage to inflation, our economic recovery faces some serious roadblocks. While the federal government may have intended to help along our resurgence, both hurdles can ultimately be traced back to failed policies in Washington, DC.

*  *  *

Like this story? Click here to sign up for the FEE Daily and get free-market news and analysis like this from Policy Correspondent Brad Polumbo in your inbox every weekday. 

After a pretty impressive start on Mars that included NASA’s Perseverance rover deploying a small robotic, coaxial helicopter called Ingenuity, the rover is beginning a 3-mile road trip across the Red Planet to search for signs of life, according to NASA JPL.

Since Perseverance landed on Mars in February, it’s taken tens of thousands of images, and its microphones have picked up sounds from the planet. Ingenuity has seven successful flights under its belt, testing if its aeronautical design can survive the planet’s thin atmosphere. 

Now Perseverance is on the move, set to explore the Jezero Crater to begin its primary science mission. The rover is searching for signs of ancient microbial life in the dried-up seabed. 

“The science goals of the mission are to study the Jezero region in order to understand the geology and past habitability of the environment in the area, and to search for signs of ancient microscopic life. The team will identify and collect the most compelling rock and sediment samples, which a future mission could retrieve and bring back to Earth for more detailed study. Perseverance will also take measurements and test technologies to support future human and robotic exploration of Mars,” NASA JPL said. 

“We are putting the rover’s commissioning phase as well as the landing site in our rearview mirror and hitting the road,” said Jennifer Trosper, Perseverance project manager at NASA’s JPL. “Over the next several months, Perseverance will be exploring a 1.5-square-mile [4-square-kilometer] patch of the crater floor. It is from this location that the first samples from another planet will be collected for return to Earth by a future mission.”

The mission’s goal is to collect sediment samples in a location that NASA researchers determine is rich in the environment and geologic history. 

“Starting with the Crater Floor Fractured Rough and Seitah geologic units allows us to start our exploration of Jezero at the very beginning,” said JPL’s Kevin Hand. “This area was under at least 100 meters [328 feet] of water 3.8 billion years ago. We don’t know what stories the rocks and layered outcrops will tell us, but we’re excited to get started.”

There will be additional missions after Jezero Crater. The rover will then traverse the rocky surface to an ancient river delta that flowed into the crater.

Perseverance’s missions to search for ancient life, minerals, among other things, will collect data vital for future missions. Eventually, private industry will mine the planet for rare metals in the next decade or so. But before that, miners will tap the moon first.